A teenage powerlifter managed to win double golds at a world championship despite her endometriosis flaring up to leave her in excruciating pain just before the competition. Lhamo Weston, from Redditch, also landed second on the podium with a silver and a bronze medal, across three events in the World Sub-Junior & Junior Powerlifting Championships, in South Africa last month. The 18-year-old only took up the sport three years ago, after being inspired by her brother to give it a go.
Weston now uses social media to speak openly about having endometriosis and being a young woman in the sport of powerlifting, in the hope of empowering others. Lhamo told the BBC she loves competing in the sport because of its inclusivity. "I love how inclusive it is and how we're like a community," she said.
"Everyone knows each other and are really supportive of each other, and I just think it's an amazing sport that really brings people together." She stood on the podium in the Under 57kg category at the championship after getting two golds in squat and deadlift, and a bronze in the bench event. "It felt incredible to be completely honest, I went into it with expectations of potentially reaching podium. I didn't initially expect to place second or even have a chance at placing first," she said.
But a flare up of her endometriosis, a condition which sees tissue similar to the lining of the womb grow outside of it, meant she was competing in difficult conditions: "That led to excruciating amounts of pain and a lot of issues again with making weight, which really affected me leading into comp," Lhamo continued. "It can affect my training with the pain, I get quite tired and I also get back pain which can feel the same as a back injury. It was difficult but we managed to do it." Endometriosis affects one in 10 women in the UK, but she says many people don't know about it.
"There's not enough awareness about it and how it actually impacts women and girls," she continued. "I've been dealing with endometriosis since I was 12, and I only got diagnosed last year. It was a very long journey and I just think there needs to be more awareness so we can try and find solutions to help other people.
"As for powerlifting, if you want to do it, go for it. At the end of the day, there's nothing holding you back." The teenager trains at Elite Fitness gym in Redditch and, despite recently moving to Worcester, still travels the 45 minutes to get there. Sam Pope, who works there, says Lhamo is an inspiration.
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